The question of whether the defendant’s purchase or failure to purchase liability insurance should be disclosed to the jury is a very thorny issue in a negligence trial. Improper disclosure of liability insurance to the jury in a Rhode Island personal injury trial could cause trial disruption. Such disclosure could unduly prejudice the jury. Unlawful disclosure may cause the judge to start a new trial or the judge to issue a curative jury instruction. What is the Rhode Island law or rule that governs Insurance Disclosures in Rhode Island personal injury or premises liability lawsuits? Why is it so dangerous to the notion of justice and a fair trial that juries are not told if the defendant has liability insurance?
“Rule 411 states that evidence that a person was or was not insured against liability is not admissible on the question of whether he or she acted negligently or wrongfully. RIR Evid. 411. The rule is intended to discourage investigation of compensation of the defendant in a calculated way to influence the jury”. The mountain
An improper and unlawful disclosure to the General Liability Insurance jury “may be cured by a timely warning instruction. Id., 330 A.2d at 78. The Rhode Island Superior Court Judge must determine whether such improper disclosure” so irreparably prejudiced Respondent as requiring a new trial.” Cochran v. Dube, 114 RI 149, 152, 330 A.2d 76, 78 (RI 1975)
Why is evidence of the Defendant’s Insurance or Lack of Insurance so damaging to the administration of justice and the notion of a fair trial? There are many reasons:
1) The jury can decide the case not on the central issue of the case: the negligence of the defendant. but rules in favor of the plaintiff because the Insurance Company has a lot of money to pay the claim.
2) The Claimant may incorrectly state that the only reason he or she purchased the Insurance was because he or she must have known a dangerous condition existed.
An example of this is The mountain in which the court stated “Particularly problematic examples include Plaintiffs’ statements that the Defendant had a dangerous [situation], so he bought insurance to cover him in case there was an accident; and that landowners should honor him with insurance when they make mistakes.”
3. If the Defendant is able to obtain evidence that the Defendants lack insurance coverage, this could elicit sympathy from the jurors. The jury may sympathize with the defendant’s financial situation and find in favor of the defendant. The defendant’s ability and resources to pay a judgment is not something a jury should consider when determining a personal injury case in Rhode Island.
There are many other reasons courts withhold information about a defendant’s liability insurance from the jury.
There are also numerous exceptions to this liability insurance rule.” Rule 411 specifically provides for the admission of liability insurance evidence when it is offered for other purposes, including “bias or prejudice of a witness, or when the court determines that it is in the interest of of justice evidence of insurance or lack of insurance should be allowed.” OLIVEIRA v. JACOBSON